Restaurant Guide 2008

Tags:

This subversively named restaurant is full of surprises, starting with the entrance. A narrow, generically decorated bar, visible from the street, opens into a large, high-ceilinged dining room with curtained, cushy white-leather booths bathed in the red glow of an enormous light fixture recessed in the ceiling. The understaffed host station and corny, oversugary cocktail list suggest India House-style Westernization, but the mustard-heavy pickles will take your head off, and the leftovers from the enormous platter of fiery tandoori murgh (chicken marinated in yogurt and cayenne served with onions and peppers) will fill your fridge with an overpowering scent of woodsmoke. There aren’t very many misses on the lengthy menu. Three must-tries are the muchli ka tikka (tandoor-grilled, spice-encrusted seasonal fish), the chana pindi (mysteriously delicious chickpeas) and the sweet, creamy murg makhani (“butter chicken” simmered in tomato curry). Don’t skimp on the sides: The various flatbreads come steaming fresh from the tandoor oven.